Hi , guys, my daughter has fine very wavy hair but loads of it and its a right bugger to straighten, my hairdresser is going to be doing an xtenso ceramic straightening treatment on her next month.
just wondered what you hair geeks opinions of this treatment are.
I trust my hairdresser completely she is brilliant, she keeps me under control with my hair which is not easy as I would change my colour every 5 minutes if I had the chance.
But this is a new thing for my daughter, so feed back or advice on aftercare would be great.
Extenso will not completely straighten her hair, it relaxes the curl and makes it easier to flat iron or blow out. Extenso is perfect for super curly fine hair that hasn't been straightened before because it leaves enough of the natural lift to the hair that you don't feel bald or look like you have no hair. She will still be able to diffuse or scrunch if she wants her curl back for a day or two, but then she will be able to shampoo and blow it smooth again.
Extenso is probably my favorite relaxer for caucasian hair, it is a buffered ammonium thioglycolate base that contains some protien as well so it even though it is chemically altering the shape, it supports the hair fiber.
Make sure she doesn't color or highlight for 10-15 days after relaxing, it will revert back curly if she does. It takes about 2 weeks for the bonds to completely reform after using Extenso. (We had to know the why, so we did a test strand after a relaxer service on a student, she wanted to know why also and this is what we found) She waited the 2 weeks to have her color done, her hair stayed relaxed and her color held well.
She should use a support shampoo, if your stylist is using the Extenso chances are she will have Liss Extreme or Shine Curl also made by Loreal and they are both designed to support and protect naturally curly or chemically relaxed hair.
Ok, now I sound like an Extenso ad....
Any salon shampoo that contains moisture as well as some protein would be fine. Natural curl lacks moisture and the straightening will sensitise the protien. Your stylist I'm sure will recommend something for aftercare.
The other relaxer we use for caucasian hair is ISO Mane Tamer, it isn't quite as buffered and seems to be better for coarser, more wiry hair.
This was probably WAY more than you wanted to know, but you can also visit the loreal site and get the same information :wink2: Have any other ??'s about Extenso I'd be happy to answer!